off the beaten path on the coast of valencia on #igtravelthursday

A quick trip to Spain to enjoy the sunshine, warm sea and good food. Not the most typical beach holiday though as we went quite off-peak time-wise at the end of the season and to an area that is still very quiet and not touristic and family-oriented (yes, those still exist!). End result: a happy family and nearly empty beaches to enjoy!

This is actually the first time ever that I didn’t bring my camera with my – just my iphone for some scenery and family snaps. To be honest this was the least I have ever packed for this family: five people, five days and one carry-one (plus a back pack for husbands laptop, and few other bits and bobs. It might sound crazy, but I have finally learned my lesson: most of the time we all wear swimsuits so not much else is needed – plus we have a fine washing machine and the laundry dries in roughly 30 minutes!

I think it’s quite amazing that we can leave our house 7am here in England, drive to the airport and find ourselves on a fine Spanish beach (in southern Spain, not the Asturias like in the spring) after 1pm. Yes, we officially love the Gatwick-Valencia route!! I often think that UK has a perfect location in terms of travel around Europe, East Coast US and even some parts of Asia aren’t that far away.

Normally it’s very hot this time of the year, so we could call ourselves sort of lucky as we arrived right after cold drop and huge amounts of rain. The nights were actually cool and sleeping was easy. Of course it also meant that the water was a bit cooler than the normal 30c (around 86F) but even me, the whiner, swam happily in the sea and the pools so it wasn’t really that bad…

You might have noticed that I like to travel and explore new places and this little hidden gem in Spain in one of the few exceptions to the rule as we’ve been coming here for over ten years, or rather my husband his whole life. This really is not a holiday in that sense, but a lovely journey back to see the family (but in a really nice location). Here I do not cram my days full of tours and castles, although I cannot quite live without them either.

Coming back to coastal Spain and more rural Valencia region is for me about relaxation, family time, and enjoying the fresh flavours of the country. On the other hand we’ve already explored so many crannies and nooks, as well as castles, churches, and other beautiful or historical sights – and there are plenty!

In my first visit we came to this hill-top hermitage to get a good look of the coastal area, and I keep coming back here to enjoy the gusty wind and relative silence from the beach life. On a good day one can apparently see the island, but I have never managed to see any, so I just keep imagining a view of Mallorca in front of me: after all these years I think next time we should finally visit that famous little island…

I hope you have enjoyed our little impromptu trip to Torrenostra beach and Valencia region. If you search my blog there’ll be older stories from the area, and maybe a story of two of the castles and things I enjoy the most in this region!

And finally, here comes my weekly favourite Instagrammer. This time it’s all about cityscapes and beautiful places to visit in Poland, as captured by @jaroslaw_marciuk:

I hope to see you joining me and our other hosts in this weekly travel linky. Please remember to follow the rules below, add our logo and link at least to one host. If you don’t write a blog you can still participate by tagging some of your fabulous travel photos with #IGTravelThursday

Thanks Farrah. I think the Med area is underrated, it can easily measure up to Hawaii, Caribbean and Asian beaches in places. The Med advantage is the additional history that comes with, whereas many islands can be just about the beaches. I love the combination: exploring and then relaxing on the beach…

I love how empty the beaches are!! I don’t like busy beaches and we usually try avoiding them at all cost, but I would love to do a trip like this. And it’s impressive with how little you traveled with 🙂

I feel embarrassed how little Spain I’ve actually seen and hope to fix it little by little. So much to see and food is always good. Yes Katja, I hate being on a beach where you cannot move, but this one is never bad, even on high season. I think I packed so much only because there had been the cold drop, half the stuff in the suitcase came back unused…

Your time in Spain looks so amazing! I really enjoyed your Instagram photos during your trip. Spain is one of my favorite countries so I love reading about people’s adventures there and seeing the pictures. The beach shots are gorgeous. You’re so lucky you are just a hop, skip and jump away!

I think off-peak traveling is the best! Often you get best service then as well in restaurants etc as the staff is not as busy and stressed out as in the summer time. I’d love this kind of quick get-away right now, but for us it takes bit longer to first get to the airport and then to fly anywhere in southern Europe… Loved the pictures! Not sure if I could leave my camera behind though… 🙂

So true Satu, as long as the weather is still decent! The only reason I was able to leave my camera behind is because I’ve been here 10+ times!! Sort of homecoming for us. Gotta say I love Gatwick airport – with the new family security we can make it from home to past the security point in an hour!! Can’t beat that… so hoping for many more weekend adventures!

We love Spain! We spent some time in Malaga and Costa del Sol and can’t wait to get back. Also, packing light is truly an art but I’m not sure I could ever get away without an entire bag dedicated to camera gear.

The regions are so different. I was so surprised by northern spain in May as it’s so green and just feels different. Of course Madrid and Barcelona are the kind of must visit places. I’ve been longing to see the Arab influence in the Moorish cities – but husband keeps saying that one can only visit them at spring time because the summer is too hot. Next spring it’s my mission to head towards Cordoba for sure! And my camera will then travel too!!

You’re welcome to join us in the next adventure here in Europe. I was just looking for something new and fun. The castle nearby here which is cited as the most beautiful in UK is taking bookings for luxury glamping experience, and I am tempted by that..

Love your photos from Valencia! I have never been to Spain and want to go so badly but can never decide what area to visit. I think you’re right about the U.K. being ideally located in terms of travel – I am envious of how many places you can easily visit from there. We have just returned from London and after each visit I am driven to distraction by the idea that I would like to pack up and move there!

Like I was telling to Joe – I’d probably start with Barcelona or Madrid. Depends what you want to see – maybe a little round tour might be good to start with, some history and cool places and to finish it off on the beach….

Leigh, you should do a big European tour – start up North and end up in the South. And you could meet us, your friends in every stop in different countries. We could do here the luxury glamping in the most beautiful castle (Leeds) in the UK to start with!

Thanks DJ, Spain is such a large country that one could spend a year just going around. Maybe next time you can head to Valencia, or the north is also pretty amazing – we went to Asturias in May and loved it!